The Money SavingExpert reports about a price drop by Virgin Media on their broadband service for households which are on universal credit.
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The cheapest social tariff on the market
According to the Money Saving Expert, Virgin Medialowered the subscription price from £15 a month to £12.50 a month – making it the cheapest social tariff but also the slowest bandwidth on the market.
The price change is effective immediately for all existing and new customers, and Virgin Media is planning to launch new faster speed packages next month.
The reduced-price package by Virgin Media is called 'Essential Broadband'. ISPreviewreports that the respective package includes a 15Mb plan with 2Mbps upload speed, unlimited data usage and a 30-day rolling contract to those receiving Universal Credit, and a guaranteed fixed price that does not change over time.
Virgin Media will be offering also a faster package with a 50Mb plan costing £20 a month.
Eligibility
Virgin Media like other broadband providers were urged by Ofcom, the UKtelecoms industry regulator to enhance the visibility of their social tariffs, The Money Saving Expert reports.
‘70% of eligible customers were not aware these deals existed.’
Ofcomfigures asserts that 4.2 million low-income households are eligible for special discounted broadband packages, however, about 97% of those eligible, are still missing out on average savings of £144 a year.
The Company has also repeated their call towards authorities to initiate actions for cutting VAT on social tariffsfrom 20%to no more than 5%, which is in line with other utilities such as electricity and gas.
Sources used:
-Money Saving Expert: ‘Virgin Media cuts price of broadband for households on benefits – check if you can get it and how it compares’
-ISPreview: ‘Virgin Media UK Cuts Price of Social Tariff – Adds 50Mbps Plan’
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